Candy Cane Valentine's day heart treats

It took me awhile, but I have finally gotten into the holiday spirit and started crafting for Valentine's day.

Valentine's day is not my favorite holiday.

I don't know why I don't like it.

I love Halloween because of the free candy,

 but to me Valentine's day seems like Halloween's sad second cousin.

Anyway, all that aside, I spent last night burning my fingertips

{only kidding}, 

but creating these candy cane Valentine's day hearts.

I love how they turned out, and they will be the "goodie" that my son hands out to his class.

They require a little forethought.

Which is why you may want to just take a second and pin this project so you can get back to it next year.

I saw these sour fruity mini candy canes at Target for 90% off.

Each box was .17 cents.

I bought three boxes, so the total for this project was less than 50 cents.

That's my kind of project!

I was inspired by The Idea Room's candy cane heart suckers back in 2011

and have tried these several different ways

  {with sticks attached to make suckers, filling the inside with chocolate, using large candy canes, using mini candy canes}.

These mini candy canes, were by far the easiest to work with.

They didn't get too hot, they were easy to stick them together, and they weren't big enough that they were breaking and overly fragile.

Start by heating your oven to 350 degrees.

While your oven is heating, unwrap your candy canes and place them together in a heart shape on a silpat {or wax paper} sheet.

Cook the candy canes for around 3 minutes or until the candy cane is pliable but not melting and distorting.

You may need more or less time depending on how your oven heats.

These candy cane hearts are fresh from the oven.

Once you take the hearts out, pinch the ends together.

Heated perfectly, the candy cane won't be too hot to the touch, but will easily mold.

Pick up the candy cane heart with a spatula and place them on a wax sheet to cool.

 It's inevitable that you will cook your candy cane hearts too long, and they will end up coming out like this.

That's o.k.

These candy canes have been heated for longer and will be hotter, so use a spatula to help mold the candy cane back into shape.

Once your candy canes are cooled, 

you can package them up for Valentine's like we are doing,

or put them on a tray for everyone to enjoy!

Aren't they adorable?!